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BEMIDJI — Ekren Miller has plenty of experience at the Bemidji Town and Country Club.

So it should come as no surprise that the Bemidji State men’s golf head coach knocked off the defending champion in the opening round of match play in the Executive Division. Miller bested top-seeded Mark Hylden 5-and-4 to advance to the quarterfinals as the lowest-seeded player in the championship flight.

Miller will take on Paul Gustafson on Thursday afternoon. Gustafson, the No. 9 seed, beat eighth-seeded Scott Thomas 1-up.

Nick Bergan needed seven extra holes to knock off Birchmont regular and former champion Jeff Thompson. Bergan, the No. 13 seed out of East Grand Forks, will take on fifth-seeded Omar Daal, who beat Brad McEnroe 2-and-1.

Medalist Tory Johnson survived 15th-seeded Travis Kohlrusch’s upset bid with a 1-up victory. Tenth-seeded Derek Hasselberg will take on Johnson in the quarterfinals after a 2-up win over Jason Urbaniak.

Mark Ewing, the third-seeded executive player, handled Ryan Skarperud on Wednesday 2-and-1. He’ll face off against No. 6 Joe McKean after his 3-and-2 win over Joshua Faecke.

It was a good day to be a higher-seeded player in the Senior Division.

Six of the eight matches saw the seeding favorite advance to the quarterfinals, including defending champion Curt Howard in a 5-and-4 win over Robert Noren. He will take on eighth-seeded Bob Bye, who beat Paul Court 3-and-2 on Wednesday morning.

Scott Hinners was one of two players in the championship flight to pull off an upset. The No. 13 seed beat Jeffrey Slupe 1-up in 19 holes to advance. He will take on fifth-seeded Trent Wilcox out of Park Rapids, who notched a 3-and-1 win over Barry Romo.

Medalist Dale Finck cruised to a 4-and-3 win over 15th-seeded Chad Brune. Tenth-seeded Jeff Noren pulled off the second seeding-upset victory over Paul Daman in an all-Bemidji match.

The largest margin of victory among the senior players was third-seeded Mark Lindberg’s 8-and-7 win over Miles Schacher. He will play against sixth-seeded Brad Anderson, who beat Todd Daniels 1-up.

Four Junior 17U Division players remain in contention for the top prize.

Top-seeded Gavin Rude pulled out a 2-and-1 win over eighth-seeded Jackson White. Fourth-seeded Kolby Koerner handled Bemidji’s Axel Burlingame 5-and-4 to advance.

Kale Hins, the No. 7 seed, took down second-seeded Isaac Mattfield of Bemidji in a 2-up victory. He will square off against third-seeded Preston Miller, who beat Marco Rolle 6-and-5.

Much like the Senior Division first round, the Women’s Division featured top seeds advancing to the quarterfinals. All higher-seeded players moved on.

Defending champion Morgan Hetletved beat Lily Lundgren 5-and-4. Abbie Kelm, the 2023 champion, survived with a 1-up win over ninth-seeded Carrie Lundgren to earn a shot at dethroning Hetletvedt on Thursday.

Fourth-seeded Emersyn Walker and medalist Emily Israelson rolled to 8-and-6 wins over Amber Koth and Abby Voller, respectively. Walker will play against fifth-seeded Anna Tollette, who beat No. 12 Haily Abel 3-and-1. Isrealson takes on seventh-seeded Riley Crothers, who edged out a 19-hole win over Anna Eckmann.

Lily Bredemeier notched a 3-1 victory over 14th-seeded Taylor Offerdahl. She will play against sixth-seeded Ava Olson, who beat Morgan Fitzgerald 3-and-2.

North Dakota State’s Ian Simonich felt proud to see a handful of his Bison teammates – current and graduated – make waves during the 36-hole qualifier. The trend continued into match play on Wednesday.

Simonich beat Bemidji’s Nick Yavarow 4-and-2 to advance into the round of 16, while several other NDSU players also moved on. Fifth-seeded Nate Deziel beat Cannon Jeffrey 7-and-6, 10th-seeded Nate Adams beat Zach Israelson 5-and-4, third-seeded Jake Skarperud bested Bemidji State’s Logan Schoepp 5-and-3, No. 14 Josh Galvin handled Tim Skarperud 3-and-1 and sixth-seeded Rylin Petry beat Zach Hinschberger 2-and-1.

Defending champion Nick Schaefer’s pursuit of a fourth Birchmont crown continued with a 3-and-2 win over Koerner Ross. Bemidji’s Matthew Gregg, the No. 8 seed, pulled out a 1-up win over Danny Menton, while 16th-seeded Landon Miller secured a 2-up win over Tom Jenkins.

Ninth-seeded James Foss out of Roseau dispatched Johnny Larson 2-and-1, while Alex Barrett, the 29th-seeded player, upset No. 4 Brandon Nelson.

Toby Palmicino, Bemidji State hockey’s equipment manager, advanced as the 20th seed with a 3-and-2 win over Evan Booth. No. 12 seed Ryan Engel also picked up a 3-and-2 win over Carter White, while 15th-seeded Jack Southard advanced with a 2-up triumph over Wyatt Blomseth.

Lucas Feterl notched a 1-up win as the 26th-seeded player to upset No. 7 Jon DuToit. Roseau’s Max Wilson concluded the first round of match play with a 2-and-1 victory over Logan Motzko.

None of the top three seeds are in contention to come away with the Masters Division title.

Sixteenth-seeded Michael Sansom defeated defending champion Jeff Tweeton 2-and-1 on Wednesday afternoon, guaranteeing a new victor in 2024. Eighth-seeded Bill Thoreson will take on Sansom after his 3-and-1 win over John McEnroe.

Medalist Wayne Caughey fell 3-and-2 against Taylor Douglas, while third-seeded Don Dale suffered a 2-up loss against Jack Seiberlich.

Fourth-seeded Jeff Nelson and fifth-seeded Rick Vanyo avoided seeding upsets in the opening round. Nelson beat Jack Kocak 6-and-4, while Vanyo handled Mark Noga 3-and-2. Seventh-seeded Bruce Pederson notched a 2-up win over Dave Fox, while No. 11 Jeff Henderson advanced with a 3-and-2 win over Jeff Wiltse.

• Monday: Qualifying rounds for the Men’s, Senior, Executive and Junior Divisions.
• Tuesday: Qualifying rounds for the Women’s and Masters Divisions; second round of qualifying for Men’s, Senior and Executive divisions; match play begins for Junior 10-12 division.
• Wednesday: Match play begins for all championship divisions. (Men’s letter flights, Executive Regular and Junior 10-12 divisions do not play.)
• Thursday: Match play continues for all championship divisions. (Senior Regular, Masters Regular and Junior flights do not play.)
• Friday: Match play continues for all divisions. (Women’s Regular flights do not play.)
• Saturday: Match play finals for all divisions.